The question of strikes

The question of who owns the land has always been a contentious issue in the world. It has divided societies, and on a more extreme level, has pitted nations against each other. More of the extreme is available in today's world, with the Israeli-Palestinian issue none more so. Now, the allocation of land in Jammu and Kashmir to a religious trust has led to protests and counter strikes by both hindus and muslims. Muslims protested in Kashmir, while the VHP and the Bajrang Dal issued a nationwide strike.

Once again, I am not going to focus on the issue as such. I believe focusing on that will lead to attaching some kind of value judgment. But, even if i focus on any one of those aspects, it is bound to lead to some value attachment. My focus is on the very common trend that happens in volatile issues. The Strikes that have been called all over the country is something which has to be talked on. The reason being that it has never achieved anything, on top of which it has affected the normal functioning of the country.

There have been thousands of issues, and most of the times it is observable that a strike has been called for. From my perspective, a strike is meant to express what the people think about the issue. It is meant to demonstrate that this issue can harm the setup of the state and society, and hence the citizens have no part in the issue. The method of passive protest is often bought out through these strikes.

However, there have been several instances where people just do not care. Some enjoy the day at home, others are engaged in their own material enjoyments, while the whole issue is stagnated by the strike and ultimately forgotten in society. If a strike is done to sidetrack an issue, it works perfectly. But, as the solution to a problem, it will never be effective. People do NOT care, and strikes ensure that citizens run away from the problem rather than confronting them.

The damage that follows during strikes due to sporadic violences can also be damaging. Some political goons or so called moral police can take the law in their hands and ensure that society remains tense. Moral police could include religious fanatics and nationalists, and there have been instances where violence has sidetracked the real issue on hand.

Strikes are part of a bygone era. Their implementation in the modern age may not hold value, as demonstrated by citizen apathy and sidetracking of several vital social problems. Strikes are framed in a negative way by the media, and thus they fall further in grace in the eyes of the public. There has to be some other way of expression, so that the issue is not sidetracked.